The CPI(M)’s compromise on its political line will still need a practical resolution
By adopting a political resolution acceptable to both the majority and minority sections, the 22nd party congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) averted a divisive contest for the post of the general secretary and gave a fresh term to the incumbent, Sitaram Yechury. In its essence, the political line was not very different from the draft political resolution backed by the majority section led by former general secretary Prakash Karat, but it was sufficiently vague to give some manoeuvring room to the beleaguered Mr. Yechury. The clause of contention related to allying with the Congress to defeat the BJP — with the majority Karat line, backed by most of the Kerala unit, against it, and the minority Yechury line, supported by most of the West Bengal unit, for it. The compromise involved replacing the phrase “without having an understanding or electoral alliance with the Congress party” with “without having a political alliance with the Congress party”. The end-result allowed both sides to claim victory. For the Karat side, ruling out a political alliance meant ruling out an electoral alliance; for the Yechury side, the withdrawal of the specific bar on understanding and electoral alliance with the Congress opened up the possibility of taking such a course. For those not used to the intense debates in Communist parties this might seem more like word-play than sword-fight. But the differences are rooted not only in a theoretical understanding of the threat posed by the BJP, whether it is communal authoritarianism or fascism, but also in the practical difficulty of fighting the Congress in Kerala and allying with it elsewhere. If fascism were the only concern for the West Bengal unit, an alliance with the Trinamool Congress should have been just as viable.
However, reducing its whole politics to the question of allying with the Congress would have been a serious mistake for the CPI(M), which built its support base first on the back of working class struggles, and later in opposition to the growing threat from neo-liberalism, represented in equal measure by the BJP and the Congress. The political line, in any case, allows for an understanding with all secular opposition parties, including the Congress, on agreed issues inside Parliament, and a broad mobilisation of people against communalism. The happy compromise allowed Mr. Yechury a second term, leaving the question of whether the unity on theory will hold in practice to be answered at the time of a general election in West Bengal. True, the current political line does not prohibit the CPI(M) from having seat adjustments or a post-poll understanding with the Congress. But not even an imaginative reading of the resolution can allow for the type of alliance the two parties had in West Bengal in 2016.
- compromise (noun) – agreement, understanding, settlement/deal.
- congress (noun) – conference, meeting, summit.
- avert (verb) – prevent, stop, avoid.
- divisive (adjective) – isolating/separating, dividing; disharmonious.
- incumbent (adjective) – current, existing, present.
- draft resolution (noun) – a document that seeks to fix the problems within the organisation. The draft resolution can be tabled after the delegates/members voted on amendments with which the ideas of some delegates on how to resolve an issue are proposed.
- vague (adjective) – uncertain, unclear, imprecise/inexact.
- manoeuvring room (noun) – opportunity/scope/chance to negotiate/navigate/direct something carefully & skillfully.
- beleaguered (adjective) – troubled, hard-pressed, under-stressed.
- contention (noun) – disagreement, dispute, argument.
- ally with (verb) – unite/join, team up, form an alliance.
- rule out (phrasal verb) – exclude, eliminate, reject/dismiss.
- bar (noun) – obstacle, impediment, barrier/restriction.
- word-play (noun) – verbal wit (funniness/creating humour).
- be root in (verb) – have as an origin, have something as a cause.
- authoritarianism (noun) – autocracy, totalitarianism/draconianism, fascism
- neo-liberalism (noun) – new/revived liberal principles.
- secular (adjective) – non-religious.
- mobilisation (noun) – the act of bringing people together for a particular cause.
- reading (noun) – understanding, interpretation (of a situation).
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